Healthy Scallop Spaghetti Squash Carbonara

This Healthy Scallop Spaghetti Squash Carbonara is made with turkey bacon, peppers and mushrooms with a delicious cream sauce for an easy weeknight dinner!

This post is sponsored by me on behalf of Marina Del Rey Foods. Thanks for supporting the brands I love – they help keep my blog up and running!

I’ve got something to admit guys. I’m a certified pasta fiend. If left to my own devices, I would devour all kinds of pasta without abandon, every day. When you’re a carb lover, it can be hard to control your cravings, right?

Well, if you’re a pasta addict like me, then this This Healthy Scallop Spaghetti Squash Carbonara is the perfect solution to your carb-induced problems. Spaghetti squash is super easy to roast in the oven, and has a texture similar to spaghetti or a delicate angel hair pasta – and it’s a vegetable! A very tasty one at that. Throw in some healthy turkey bacon, add a delicious cream sauce and then top the whole thing off with SCALLOPS?!

Umm, yeah you’ve got me sold. Say hello to one of the most divine dinners imaginable. And all this healthy comfort food comes together in under an hour!

Okay, I have to admit, the sauce isn’t traditional carbonara – more of a mix between a healthier alfredo and a smoky cream sauce. You only need a tiny bit of cream and parmesan to mix with the light crunch of the spaghetti squash, and the scallops add a delightful indulgence to the meal so you’ll feel like you’re enjoying a five-star dinner on a weeknight!

I also love this Healthy Scallop Spaghetti Squash Carbonara because it’s a great freezer meal – make the spaghetti squash ahead of time and pull them out of the freezer (or fridge), defrost in the microwave for a minute or two and then heat up in the oven for dinner after a long day! Then all you have to do from there is make the sauce and sear the scallops at the very last minute.

I have to admit I’m obsessed with all things stuffed veggies these days. It’s a great way to get a full serving of vegetables and enjoy great sauces, lean proteins, delicious cheeses and whole grains, and an easy way to cook for yourself as a single person without too many leftovers.

Every part of this recipe (from the squash to the sauce) can be made ahead of time so that all you need to do is sear the scallops at the last minute, which I find actually disguises the fact that you could technically pull this out of the freezer for dinner. The scallops elevate this Spaghetti Squash Carbonara to a new level, and makes the whole thing pop with flavour.

And speaking of scallops, I am absolutely HOOKED on these Icelandic wild-caught scallops from Marina Del Rey, and they’re SO EASY to cook! Don’t you just love when the simplest, high-quality ingredients make such a huge difference in a recipe?

Marina Del Rey Foods sells responsible, wild-caught frozen seafood – I LOVE their wild Argentinean shrimp, and now I think I’m hooked on their scallops too! There’s no water or chemicals in their products, and their wild seafood is also free from hormones, colours and other additives found in farmed seafood so you can rest easy knowing you’ve picked a delicious, healthy choice for dinner.

The key to getting these scallops to cook perfectly is to sear them on high heat in a frying pan on the stovetop. Add in a generous amount of olive oil, heat on high until oil starts smoking (get that kitchen fan on by the way!) and then add your scallops after they have been patted dry and seasoned with salt and pepper. Sear for about 45 seconds to a minute per side, then flip and sear another minute or so.

Remove from heat to a paper-towel lined plate and then top off your spaghetti squash carbonara with these delicious, tender sea scallops. They are TO DIE FOR. No extra seasonings needed beyond salt and pepper – just enjoy them in their own simplicity. Now this is fall comfort food I can get behind, like, every night.

Scallops are high in protein, low in calories and rich in Omega-3s, so they’re a go-to choice for me even beyond taste when I’m choosing what to have for dinner – I want something that will satisfy me, keep me full and complement the other healthy components of a recipe like this Spaghetti Squash Carbonara.

And as if all of this isn’t exciting enough, Marina Del Rey Foods will be giving away some of their seafood products and a *wait for it, drumroll please…………* TRIP TO ICELAND! How incredible right?!!! You’re definitely going to want in on this fabulous contest. For details on how to enter, please see below!

Will you be trying this This Healthy Scallop Spaghetti Squash Carbonara recipe?

If you try any of my recipes be sure to let me know on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or in the comments – I’d love to see what you come up with!

I think I’m going to need some more excuses to devour these delicious, amazing scallops on a more regular basis. Looking for more scallop recipes? Find some more of my favourites below! Marina Del Rey scallops would also go PERFECTLY with these recipes! BRB – heading back to the kitchen *drooling*

About Taylor Stinson

I'm a fun-loving, 20-something girl about town living in the heart of the city, planning my life one meal at a time. Case in point: I'm obsessed with coffee, coconut and anything spicy, and consider a weekend well-spent if there's lots of good food and drink to go around. A proud Torontonian at heart, I'm a lover of all things lifestyle, am a University of Toronto graduate, and have a Masters degree in Journalism from Ryerson University. My favourite hobbies include listening to CBC radio, and cooking up a storm in my tiny city kitchen!